12. Philadelphia 76ers
The loss of Ben Simmons hurts. A lot. Assuming that they’re heading into a first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat, the Sixers are going to have a hard time beating anyone of those teams in a playoff series. He’s likely out for the season and the team will now have to depend on Joel Embiid and his supporting cast.
The good news is that Embiid is awfully good. At times, he’s been better without Simmons on the floor. But that’s neither here nor there. The big question now falls on which other player will emerge as the team’s second option on the offensive end.
Will it be Tobias Harris? Josh Richardson? Al Horford? The Sixers will need one, or perhaps all, of these players to step up in a big way. And, perhaps most importantly, on a consistent basis.
How will the postseason end for the Sixers? Only time will tell, but their prospects don’t look great.